NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Melvin Guillard is stuck in a two-fight skid, but the two losses couldn’t be more different in his eyes.

After putting together an 8-1 run, Guillard was knocking on the door of a UFC title shot before a heart-breaking, gut-wrenching 47-second defeat to Joe Lauzon in October.

Guillard’s latest loss, though – which came to Jim Miller in Friday’s UFC on FX 1 headliner – is a bit easier to swallow.

The Lauzon loss shook Guillard to his core. As his personal life finally found stability, his fighting confidence was never higher. His stock was soaring, and many wrote off Lauzon as a mere speed bump on Guillard’s long-awaited rise to the top.

Lauzon, though, proved anything but a gimme. He clipped an overly exuberant and seemingly cocky Guillard with a quick left and then followed him to the mat to get the tap-out via rear-naked choke. In five UFC losses, it was Guillard’s fifth via submission.

No. 6 came Friday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., as part of the UFC’s first FX main card. But unlike the Lauzon defeat, which left Guillard an emotional mess, the Miller loss proved easier to stomach.

Guillard (29-10-2 MMA, 10-6 UFC) rocked his opponent early – Miller (21-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) later admitted he doesn’t even really remember much from the fight and was fighting on instinct after an exceptionally jarring punch to the head – but he was wrestled to the mat and choked out with a rear-naked choke. Guillard, whose brash attitude created legions of haters over the years, was noticeably more upbeat, outgoing and exceptionally introspective and insightful leading up to the fight. It carried over even after his defeat.

“To lose to a guy like Jim, I wasn’t emotional about this loss like I was for the Lauzon fight because I really feel in my heart the Lauzon fight was a fluke,” he said. “I had Jim hurt, and my thing was I wanted to be patient. I just backed off when I probably could have swung. It could have been a different result.

“But I don’t regret anything I did tonight. I think I went in and implemented my game. I fought one of the best guys in this division, and I think I sent a message to a lot of guys. But I also understand now everyone’s going to want to take my back. Two fights in a row, two good guys took my back.”

Guillard, who got his once-troubled career back on track with the help of trainer Greg Jackson, recently left his New Mexico camp to join the “Blackzilians,” a ragtag group of MMA misfits who are piecing together a powerhouse team in Florida. Some see it as the nail in the coffin of Guillard’s career since the camp is open about its standup-oriented style and high-octane training sessions.

Guillard, though, argues that his ground game is growing by leaps and bounds with the help of fellow Blackzilians such as Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante, Jorge Santiago and countless jiu-jitsu aces.

“Give me about a year,” said Guillard, who now trains four times a week in jiu-jitsu-oriented sessions. “Be patient with me, and I’ll submit someone.

Besides, he doesn’t really see this Miller loss as a failure of his grappling.

“It wasn’t a problem,” he said. “I did everything right. I knew exactly how to shake him off my back. When he jumped on my back, I was going to go down so I could pull his arm away from my throat, but when he reset and shook me, he collapsed my hip, and I fell down. At that point, I had to try to roll over to the other side. I was sticking to the basics of what I learned.”

Some may write off Guillard’s grandiose proclamations as delusional. Fans, after all, can be a ruthless bunch. Guillard, though, said potential opponents aren’t nearly as combative. In fact, they’re downright scared. After all, when it comes to getting fights with anyone not named Frankie Edgar, he and Miller are in the same boat.

“At the end of the day, Jim Miller and I both – you guys make sure you get this right – Jim Miller and I are the two best guys in this division,” he said. “Guys don’t want to fight us. We’re the two guys people run away from. … Guys aren’t lining up to fight Jim and me.”

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